kalechipskid | Reading

Today is sunny, breezy, and cool.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches. A flock of blackbirds is flying around and singing.

I put out water for the birds.

.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

"'We were there in the 80s for the crash, and this is definitely crashier.'"

guess I can get where they're coming from, but I don't think the current video game industry crash feels, specifically, "crashier." It feels worse and bigger, most definitely, which is what they meant, I'm sure, but it doesn't really feel much like an actual "crash" at all, at least not in the usual sense of such things.

This discussion post links to the original article about problems in the video game industry.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Musing on an essay: the commodification and enshittification of community

The fact that community is becoming a wellness trend—often with an aesthetic and hefty price tag—is very telling to me. Very exposing of the larger game at play here. Because upon hearing “loneliness kills”, the impulse wasn’t to rebuild the free, accessible infrastructure of community, and ask why we’re all too exhausted and automized to connect. It was to commodify connection—sell us Community as a product: friendship coaches, curated community memberships, networking events with entry fees, apps that gamify making friends.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Why human babies are born helpless yet highly aware of the world

Because they cannot survive alone, human development unfolds through constant care. Feeding, carrying, soothing, and protecting do more than keep infants alive – they shape what babies see, hear, and experience.

A baby who cannot crawl into a group still becomes part of it, because caregivers bring the world closer. In that sense, dependence does not slow development. It creates the conditions that development grows from.

This explains a lot about why isolated or neglected infants -- in hospitals, orphanages, disadvantaged homes, etc. -- so often fail to thrive or outright die. They are deprived of the developmental needs for attention, interaction, and bonding with adults that would have supported healthy growth. The result is the same as when nutritional needs go unmet.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is sunny and chilly.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 3/28/26 -- I did more work on the tomato cage.

EDIT 3/28/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 3/28/26 -- I sowed chives, catnip, and lemon bergamot in former fruit boxes that should make good upcycled pots.

EDIT 3/28/26 -- I fastened the tomato cage to the new picnic table. It's much less wobbly now.

EDIT 3/28/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 3/28/26 -- I did some weeding around the forest garden. There's a mayapple putting up leaves. :D

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This is a prayer to Baba Yaga; this is a prayer of resistance.

This is a prayer for Baba Yaga. This is a prayer for Resistance.

This is a prayer for the magic of chicken feet, the heat of old hates, the way old bones hurt. This is a prayer for Resistance.

Current Mood: busy

marchionessofmustache

Instead of a full play diary of sorts, I'm just gonna write various things I notice while replaying the original Rune Factory, this time in Japanese.

( Read more... )

ysabetwordsmith

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

If you were given the ability to reform how your country’s leaders were chosen and how they serve, what would you change?

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Incredible Video Shows Sperm Whales Come Together to Birth a Calf

The beautiful moment when an entire group of sperm whales came together to support the birth of a calf has, for the first time, been recorded in unprecedented detail.

Over several hours on 8 July 2023, scientists recorded two sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) family groups coming together in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Dominica, taking turns to assist with the birth and help the newborn calf stay at the surface to take its first breaths.

Species survival depends on cooperation.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Our theme for this session was "World Cuisine." I wrote from 12 PM to 3:45 AM, so about 13 hours 45 minutes, allowing for lunch and supper breaks. I wrote 3 poem on Tuesday plus 3 later in the week.

Participation was up, with 7 comments on LiveJournal and another 40 on Dreamwidth. A total of 11 people sent prompts. There were no new prompters.

Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the March 3, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Confident Guesswork and Improvisation"
"Nuff Respect"
"Refusing to Melt"

"To Understand Water" (Polychrome Heroics, October 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl)

Buy some poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, see the unsold poetry list from March 3. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.

This month's donors include: [Bad username or unknown identity: janetmiles>, <user name=], and Anthony Barrette. All sponsored poems from this fishbowl have been posted. There are 0 tallies toward a bonus fishbowl.

The Poetry Fishbowl has a landing page.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

The following poems from the February 3, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl are currently available. Poems may be sponsored via PayPal -- there's a permanent donation button on my Dreamwidth profile page -- or you can write to me and discuss other methods. There are still verses left in the linkback poems "Delight in Another," "A Sense of Weather Changes," "Ouroboros Insects," "The Loving Embrace of Night," "Generations of Cooks Past," "Homefree and Clear, " "One Bite at a Time," "Stars and Diamonds," "Mishpocha," "Changing Your Nature," and "Besa."

"An Expression That Crosses Boundaries"
Story Date: Saturday, July 9, 2016
Summary: Shiv and Pain's Gray make treats to celebrate Rutledge setting up a teleport hub, and they visit Kardal at the Syrian Foods truck.
236 lines, Buy It Now = $118

Shiv had heard that Rutledge
was going to get a teleport hub.

"Foraging Forever"
Summary: Refugees of the Fall struggle to find enough food and cope with cultural differences.
195 lines, Buy It Now = $98

If there was one thing
they all had in common
after the Fall, it was hunger.

"Walnut Park"
Story Date: Monday, June 6, 2016
Summary: Boss Blaster looks at an empty lot and imagines a food truck park.
505 lines, Buy It Now = $253

Just after breakfast,
Boss Blaster's phone rang.

Checking the screen, he saw
that it was Farrah Van Andel,
his usual real estate agent.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Moon base and Mars! NASA makes exciting announcements

NASA is committed to achieving the near-impossible once again, to return to the moon [by early 2029], build a moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space.

It's good to hear serious space aspirations again.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is cloudy, cold, and damp. It stormed last night, so we finally got a good soaking rain.

I fed the birds. I've seen a male cardinal.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 3/27/26 -- I cleared dead stems from the telephone pole garden.

EDIT 3/27/26 -- I cleared dead stems from the septic garden.

I've seen a flock of sparrows.

EDIT 3/27/26 -- I cut four poles to make a tomato cage. This is the general concept.

I've seen a flock of house finches.

EDIT 3/27/26 -- I placed the poles around a large pot by the new picnic table garden, then started lashing them together. It needs more work and support, but at least it's started.

EDIT 3/27/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 3/27/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 3/27/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today's theme is Manga.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This poem came out of the March 17, 2026 Bonus Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from

chanter1944. It also fills the "Sewing" square in my 3-1-26 card for the National Crafting Month Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by

janetmiles. It belongs to the Iron Horses thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Yesterday we visited the Coles County Community Garden. (See the right side and left side of the Charleston Food Forest.)

( Walk with me ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

ysabetwordsmith

This poem is spillover from the March 17, 2026 Bonus Fishbowl. It was inspired by a discussion with

roughentumble. It also fills the "Stone" square in my 3-1-26 card for the National Crafting Month Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by

janetmiles.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This year I'm doing Community Thursdays. Some of my activity will involve maintaining communities I run, and my favorites. Some will involve checking my list of subscriptions and posting in lower-traffic ones. Today I have interacted with the following communities...

* Posted "Photos: Charleston Food Forest Part 2 Left Side" in

birdfeeding.

* Posted "Birdfeeding" in

birdfeeding.

* Posted "2026 Rose & Bay Award Winners" in

crowdfunding.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is mostly sunny, windy, and hot. It is 87°F outside. The promised pouring rain has not appeared, although it drizzled a bit last night. This is abnormally dry for March. :/

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 3/26/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 3/26/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

It's a little cooler now; the high was 88°F today.

I've seen a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 3/26/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today we visited the Charleston Food Forest. These pictures show the left side. (See the right side and the Coles County Community Garden.)

( Walk with me ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

prison for pure souls

kalechipskid

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“It is advisable to look from the tide pool to the stars and then back to the tide pool again.”

dream on panzer

visual novel violence and the gentle heart of moe

Reading

Birdfeeding

Gaming

Communities

Science

Birdfeeding

Read "This is a prayer to Baba Yaga"

Rune Factory 1 notes

Philosophical Questions: Government

Wildlife

Poetry Fishbowl Report for March 3, 2026

Unsold Poems for the March 3, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl

Space Exploration

Birdfeeding

Follow Friday 3-27-26: Manga

Poem: "A Generous Impulse"

Photos: Coles County Community Garden

Poem: "A Darkness in the Sky"

Community Thursdays

Birdfeeding

Photos: Charleston Food Forest Part 2 Left Side

prison for pure souls

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